Iteach;Latin.;I;teach;it;to;students who’ve;never;had;any;Latin;and;to those;with;years;of;it.;I;teach;Latin to;the;profoundly;gifted;and;to;the
learning;challenged.;I;teach;public;school
kids;and;homeschool;kids.;If;scores;on
the;National;Latin;Exam;(over;90%;take
honors);and;the;AP;Latin;exam;(over
95%;earn;a;3;or;higher);are;evidence,;my
approach;isn’t;half;bad.;But;when;is;the
optimal;time;to;start;Latin?
Although;I;teach;every;kind;of;student
from all different places, I only teach
Latin;at;the;high;school;level.;My;own
children;waited;until;high;school;before
they;started;Latin.;Not;a;single;hour;of
their elementary education was spent
memorizing;Latin;vocabulary;nor;chan-
ting;Latin;forms.;If;I;could;do;it;all;over,;I
would;have;them;wait;even;a;little;longer
still.;Surprised?;If;you;are;familiar;with
Classical;education;you;might;find;these
facts strange. Where are all my flash
cards, workbooks, and courses geared
toward;elementary;students?;Why;don’t
I;offer;classes;on;vocabulary;and;Latin
facts;for;younger;kids?;Why;delay;Latin?
Aren’t I missing out on an important
learning;window?
For those of you who are unfamil-
iar;with;Classical;education,;I’ll;explain
why delayed Latin is controversial for
some.;The;Classical;Trivium divides;the
first;12;years;of;a;child’s;education;into;3
parts.;These;are;the;grammar,;logic,;and
rhetoric stages. The elementary (gram-
mar);child;amasses;facts;and;memorizes
data;to;supply;mental;building;blocks;for
later.;A;logic;stage;child;(roughly;middle
school);will;seek;to;connect;that;data;as
he;asks;how and why.;In;the;rhetoric;stage
during;high;school;years,;a;student;will
build on what he’s learned to develop
critical;thinking.
Those;wanting;a;good;Classical;educa-tion;are;often;advised;to;start;Latin;very
early in elementary years. Parents are
counseled;to;spend;several;hours;each
week;helping;their;little;ones;memorize
Latin vocabulary and assorted word
forms.;In;early;middle;school,;as;the;cau-tion;goes,;students;should;start;introduc-tory;Latin.;When;high;school;students
start;Latin;in;earnest,;parents;hope;years
of;basic;Latin;experience;will;make;it;an
easy;task;for;all;involved.
Children;really;can;use;their;sponge-
like;memory;to;soak;up;vast;amounts
of;information;at;a;young;age.;Certainly
early;exercises;in;Latin,;if;properly;done,
www.TheOldSchoolhouse.com
by;Amy;Barr
When’s;the;Optimal;Time
to;Master;Latin?
Once;a;student;is;developmentally;ready;to;take
on;such;an;intellectual;challenge,;Latin;becomes
rewarding;rather;than;tedious.
